Cracked Porcelain
by Phoenix DeFuego
Summary: Squall Leonhart. The man she would always love but could never have or could she?


Author's Note/Disclaimer: Hello everyone. Sorry about Death's Banquet. I'm considering taking it down until I can figure out what I want to do with it. Sigh. Anyway,this little ficlet is just to say "Hello world, I'm still alive."By theway, I don't own any of the FF8 characters. Never have, never will. Enjoy the story and please review.**

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**Cracked Porcelain**

By Phoenix DeFuego

Quistis wiped her hands on an old towel and tossed the rag onto the cream colored counter when she heard a knock at her door. Smoothing out her skirt, Quistis tucked her blonde bangs behind her ears before answering the door.

"Hello Squall," Quistis greeted warmly. "Please, come in." Quistis stepped aside and extended her arm in invitation. Squall silently nodded his head and stepped through the doorway into Quistis's suite. As he walked past her, Quistis watched his profile with longing in her pale blue eyes and a sad smile in the corner of her lips.

Squall stood in the middle of Quistis's living room and surveyed his surroundings. In the middle of the living room was a plain looking coffee table made of dark wood with a remote and a few magazines scattered across the top. Just behind the short table was a large sofa with the same type of wood and forest green cushions. Hanging on the wall opposite of the couch was a large flat screen television, which was framed by two elegant floor lamps.

"It's nice," Squall said after several minutes of awkward silence.

"Thanks," Quistis smiled nervously. "Well, supper is almost ready. You can watch some TV if you want," she said while gesturing to the flat screen. Squall just nodded his head. Deciding to take that as an "okay" Quistis went back into the small kitchen.

Squall glanced at the dining area and noticed that, like the rest of Quistis's apartment, the furniture had a simplistic elegance to it. After a few seconds of standing around Squall decided to accept Quistis's offer and sat down on the plush sofa while reaching for the remote.

Quistis smiled when she heard the television come to life. She continued to stir the beef stew as she listened to Squall flip through the channels and her smile grew when he stopped on a sports channel airing a basketball game. Suddenly her smile turned to a frown and her brows furrowed in thought. Was this how it was between Squall and Rinoa? Did Rinoa put her heart into making a meal just for Squall as he sat in the living room watching sports?

Quistis wished that it could be this way every night. She wouldn't mind if he never said "I love you" or if he never kissed her goodnight every day or if he only hugged her once every other week. She wouldn't mind that Squall wasn't the romantic type and she wouldn't care if he didn't always tell her what he was thinking about.

She would be happy if she could cook for him while he watched television in the living room. Shaking her head, Quistis ladled the steaming soup into porcelain bowls.

Quistis set the bowls on the table and said, "It's ready!" Squall turned the television off and dropped the remote on to the coffee table as he stood up.

"What's the occasion?" Squall asked as they sat down to eat.

"Occasion?" Quistis echoed in confusion.

"Fancy bowls," Squall said while tapping the intricate bowl with his finger.

"Oh!" Quistis exclaimed. Her cheeks turned crimson and she stuttered, "N-no reason." Squall gave her a questioning look before shrugging his shoulder and digging in. "It's probably not as good as Rinoa's cooking, but…" Quistis let the statement hang in the air. She nearly had a heart attack at what happened next. Squall swallowed the spoonful of stew in his mouth and chuckled. Squall chuckled!

"Rinoa can't cook," said Squall, the corners of his lips twisted in a wry grin. Quistis was surprised by that little bit of information. She was even more surprised by Squall's mood. He was still his usual say-only-as-much-as-I-have-to self, but she was surprised at how willing he was to actually talk to her. True, he only said something in response to something she had said, but it was a start. Quistis wondered what had put him in such a good mood.

Throughout dinner the conversation was sparse, but she didn't mind. She was just happy that Squall enjoyed her food and was talking to her. After they had finished eating Quistis stood up and asked Squall if he would like to have some tea. Squall nodded his head. Quistis picked up the porcelain bowls and headed for the kitchen. Just before she entered the kitchen she stopped and spun around when she heard Squall call her name. The sound of her name rolling off his tongue sent shivers down her spine.

"It was… good," Squall said awkwardly. "The stew," he elaborated when he saw the confused look on her face. Realization struck and Quistis smiled shyly as her cheeks turned pink. Squall suddenly noticed that Quistis was very beautiful when she smiled.

Quistis bowed her head and said, "Thank you." As Quistis turned around her hip slammed into the corner of the half-wall that divided the kitchen from the rest of the apartment and she watched in horror as one of the porcelain bowls slipped from her hands. The world seemed to move in slow motion as she helplessly watched the priceless bowl fall towards the kitchen floor. Quistis fell to her knees with an anguished cry as the small bowl hit the kitchen tile and shattered into tiny pieces.

"Quistis!" Squall shouted. He leaped out of his chair and rushed to her side. Resting a hand on her shoulder, Squall knelt beside her and asked, "Are you alright?" His voice was filled with concern as his gray eyes quickly scanned her for any injuries.

Tears streamed down her face and she picked up a piece of the broken bowl with shaky hands as she sobbed, "I-it w-was a g-gift from M-M-Matron." Squall sat there and stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face. Quistis continued to cry over the broken pieces of her precious bowl.

After a couple of seconds Squall awkwardly patted her on the back and said, "It's alright Quistis." Hyne, what was she so upset about? It's just a bowl. Squall sighed; why did this kind of thing always have to happen to him? (I'm no good at this comforting thing,) Squall thought irritably; although, he did feel bad that Quistis had lost something so important to her. He knew what it was like to lose something, or rather, someone important.

Suddenly Squall got an idea. Squall helped the sniffling blonde to her feet and led her to the large sofa. Quistis reluctantly relinquished the broken shard of porcelain as Squall ordered her to lie down. Exhausted from crying so hard, Quistis was fast asleep as soon as she laid her head down. Once he was satisfied that she was sleeping, Squall returned to the kitchen and gathered up the broken pieces of porcelain.

When Quistis woke up her suite was dark and filled with silence. Slowly sitting up, she massaged the kinks out of her sore neck and looked around. A large clock on the far wall read one o' clock. Squall must have left by now. Quistis stood up and stretched her arms above her head while arching her back. She let her arms fall to her sides with a heavy sigh. Squall must think she's an idiot for crying over a bowl like that.

Shaking her head, Quistis mournfully turned towards the kitchen to clean up the mess that was likely still there. As her pale blue eyes came to rest on the half-wall a gasp escaped her lips and tears filled her eyes. There, resting on top of the half-wall was her porcelain bowl. Quistis reached the fixed bowl and saw a small white note lying next to it. Picking up the note she smiled as she read the neatly printed words. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

_Dear Quistis,_

_You can still see the cracks and there is a small chip missing but for the most part I was able to fix it. I hope this makes you smile again. Next time, leave the porcelain in the cupboard._

_Squall_


End file.
